Community activities key in applications

Q: I'm currently working with local high school students through various environmental action groups I participate in (including the Gunn High School Green Team), and I've noticed that participation can be quite spotty, with the most passionate environmentalists being the most dependable. If I had information I could share with the students that would help to demonstrate that their involvement would be a major plus on their college applications, I think that could help to stimulate more interest and dedication. Do you have any opinion on this?

A: It is true that students' involvement could "be a major plus on their college applications." In today's ultra-competitive college admissions environment, it is very important to stand out from the crowd, and community service involvement is one way to do this.

Although applicants' high school transcripts and standardized test scores remain the most important factors in determining who gains admission, other factors such as community service (and other extracurricular activities), work experience and application essays are becoming more and more important.

Colleges are looking for so-called "angular" students rather than "well-rounded" students. Admissions officers were finding that some students were padding their applications and resumes with many extracurricular activities with which the students only had a superficial involvement. Because of this padding, admissions officers are now looking for proof of serious dedication and leadership with regard to extracurricular activities.

In other words, students with spotty participation records in your environmental action groups will not gain a big advantage with respect to college admissions. However, the students who take on leadership roles and actively participate often can gain an admissions edge.

In fact, community service has become so important that some colleges and universities, such as Vanderbilt, Duke and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, offer scholarships that are partially based on meaningful community service involvement.

Vanderbilt's Ingram Scholarship Program, which provides full tuition support each year to entering freshmen, "is a unique scholarship program based upon academic merit and community service. It is distinguished by the requirement that the recipient not only volunteer for community service but also design and implement projects that address significant societal needs," states Vanderbilt's Web site.

The Robertson Scholars Program, which is offered at both Duke and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, is "an innovative merit scholarship program" that at UNC-Chapel Hill covers tuition, room, board, mandatory fees and a stipend; and at Duke, "covers tuition, housing, board and mandatory fees for all current and future scholars," according to Duke's Web site.

"The Robertson Scholars are selected from among the very best students who apply to Duke and UNC," Duke University President Richard Brodhead said. "They are chosen not just for their intelligence and creativity, but for their leadership strengths and will to use their gifts in service to the broader society."

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